The grape plant is a woody vine, which may reach a length of 17 meters or more. Grapes come in many colors – green, yellow, red, purple, or black. Leaves are large and rounded with tooth-shaped edges. Flowers are small and green and appear in clusters. There are about 60 different grape plants, as well as thousands of varieties.
Some grapes are eaten fresh while others are dried out to make raisins. But most are squeezed for their juice.
Grapes refers to the most ancient cultivated plants. Numerous archaeological finds indicate that grape growing and winemaking were known 7,000-5,000 years ago in the states of the ancient East – Egypt, Assyria, Babylon.
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What unites the flow of rivers and the human blood system, the structure of the tree and the latest achievements in technology, the creativity of artists and the strict mathematical sciences, the shell of the mollusk and the coat of arms of Russia, the surface of the moon and the economy, Hollywood blockbusters and the inconceivable complexity of the structure of the universe? And is it possible to find something in common? Definitely yes! Fractals are the basis for building our so diverse world. They are everywhere.
A fractal is a geometric figure, often characterized as being self-similar. Benoit Mandelbrot coined the term fractal to describe such figures. “Fractus” in Latin means broken, fragmented, or irregular.
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A banana plant is considered to be a large herb, because it does not have a woody trunk like a tree. It may grow to a height of 6 meters or more. Its leaves are 3 to 3.5 meters long. One bunch, made up of several clusters, grows on each plant. Each cluster has 10 to 20 bananas. After the bananas have been picked, the plant is cut down and six months later new shoots grow from the underground stem. The flowers are arranged in a group with male flowers at the tip and female flowers below. The flowers produce nectar and attract birds and bats, which pollinate the flowers.
Bananas originally came from Asia. Banana plantations are a big business in South Asia, Africa, Central and South America, and the islands of the Caribbean Sea. Bananas are picked while they’re still hard and bright green.
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Fog is tiny water drops hovering in the air. It is like a cloud on the ground. Thick fog makes it difficult to see the surrounding landscape.
Fog forms from water vapor, which turns back into liquid, when the air cools. A gentle wind helps fog to form and to stay in the air. It is very common in valleys and near bodies of water and usually forms at night. In the morning it disappears.
Water droplets in the fog have a size of only about 0.01 mm. A thick fog contains approximately 1200 drops per cubic cm.
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Fleas are insects that live as parasites on birds and mammals, including humans. They depend on the animal they live on for food. Fleas bite the animal and feed on its blood. They can spread diseases. There are about 1,600 species of flea. The largest individual is only about 1 centimeter long. Fleas are excellent jumpers.
A flea has four stages of life: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. A female flea can lay more than 20 eggs every day. Adult fleas live for a few weeks to about a year.
Fleas commonly spend a great deal of time off their hosts, for example, in vegetation or on the ground. They can generally survive for a long time without feeding.
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Africa is famous for its beautiful landscapes, amazing animal life, and diverse human culture. It is the second largest continent on Earth, after Asia. More than 50 countries make up the continent and more than one eighth of the world’s population lives there. It is the oldest continent.
The Sahara, the world’s largest desert, lies in the north of the continent and covers almost all of northern Africa. The Kalahari and the Namib, two other major deserts, are in southwestern Africa.
The African continent has two major rivers, the Nile and the Congo. The Nile is the longest river in the world. Lake Victoria, at the southern end of the Nile, is Africa’s largest lake. The length of the Victoria Falls is more than a kilometer, and the height is more than 100 meters. Its noise extends 40 kilometers around.
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Goats are horned mammals closely related to sheep. People raise goats for their milk, hair, and meat. In many countries, people make butter, cheese and even ice cream from goat’s milk. In Spain, goats are the main source of milk.
A domestic goat usually weighs about 45 to 54 kilograms. Both male and female goats may have horns. Most males also grow beards.
Goats eat grass and shrubs.
Wild goats are animals of the mountains. Most wild goats live in herds of 5 to 20 animals. There are several types of wild goats – the ibex, the markhor, the tahr, and the goral.
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